This week, most of the country is social distancing and trying to ways to cope with the disruption of almost everything about their lives, so Gloria wanted to offer practical and inspirational ways to be helpful, involved, even creative as COVID-19 continues to make headlines around the world.
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Gloria Feldt: Like I always say, just when you think you have it all buttoned up, you discover your sweater unraveled. Hello, and welcome to Power to You. I’m Gloria Feldt. I’ve spent my entire career advancing women’s rights and equality from the boardroom to the bedroom. I cofounded Take the Lead because I figured out how to crack the code that has been holding women back from equal leadership and pay, and now I want to give you all those secrets and tools to prepare and propel you with training and coaching to harness your incredible power to in professional lives.
My daughter brought me a roll of toilet paper wrapped beautifully in purple tissue. We shared a knowing laugh. I wanted to hug her, but we elbow bumped. Even Disneyland is closed, for heaven’s sakes. This coronavirus stuff is serious. Leaders and all of us have to be serious about containing it so we can conquer it. Stay home to stay well is the mantra. I hope that listening to this podcast will help you just a little bit.
Now, because it’s serious business doesn’t mean we have to lose our sense of humor. It’s a good time, actually, to watch those silly dances on TikTok, to make phone calls to people you haven’t seen in ages all over the country or the world. I’ve been doing that while I’ve been out walking in the mornings, and you know, it’s pretty cool. To clean out closets, as a friend of mine who I called yesterday, who is totally bored with the lack of his favorite live entertainment, said he was doing. My sister, my husband and I spent a fun evening quizzing Alexa about music from Broadway shows and then singing them. Poorly, but with gusto.
On a more serious note, this is a time for innovation and creativity, for solving the very problems that are keeping us socially distanced. I want to give a hat tip to my friend and angel investor, Jackie Zehner, for sharing this article about Vital Vio, a female-founded company that designs lights meant to continuously kill bacteria. She’s working with Delta Air Lines to bring its antimicrobial LED lights to airplanes. Isn’t that cool? The founder, her name is Colleen Costello, had the idea of using LED lights to kill bacteria, such as MRSA and E. coli that live on surfaces in hospitals. Could be a game changer, and it certainly will be an innovation that’s been hastened along by the coronavirus.
Now, despite the president stating he takes no responsibility, each of us can exercise leadership from wherever we sit. We can take part in the solutions to the pandemic, and all of us working together surely will. Our second United States First Lady, Abigail Adams, was so wise that I’m pretty sure if she were living today, she might have been running to be the first female president of the United States. Instead, she was the wife to the second president and the mother of the sixth.
In 1780, she wrote to her teenage son, John Quincy Adams, “These are the times in which a genius would wish to live. It is not in the still calm of life, or the repose of a specific station that great characters are formed. Great necessities call out great virtues.” I love that. Great necessities call out great virtues. It is truly in moments of creative chaos like these today that new technologies are born and revolutionary culture shifts are created. Carpe the chaos, as I discussed in a previous episode, and that’s my leadership power tool number five, by the way.
Now, it doesn’t help to deny the anxiety that you might for very good reason be feeling. According to research, the first step in coping with anxiety is acknowledge that you have it. But it also doesn’t help to be immobilized by the situation. In fact, I find that taking action of some kind, almost any kind, is the best antidote. If I feel powerless, starting to work to create a solution to my predicament brings the locus of power back inside of myself. You know, even if that first solution I start working on doesn’t turn out to be one that is even effective, simply getting started and taking some action makes me feel much more powerful, and makes me really take that locus of power inside myself, so that I don’t feel like I can’t have an impact on my situation.
So, I put together a few survival tips to help you carpe the chaos. The first one is you might be isolated in your home, but you can reach out in whatever ways are possible. The scenes and sounds of homebound Italians joining together in song from their apartment balconies lifted the world’s spirits as well as their own. Connect with other people directly every day. My gym is closed and yours probably is, too, so I walk outdoors instead, and while I’m walking, I use that time to make phone calls to friends and relatives. And you know, it’s really amazing that we so rarely just pick up the phone and call people anymore that I’ve found that everyone is just thrilled to get a regular old, plain old phone call. So, try that.
Secondly, look for counterintuitive opportunities to achieve your goals. Take the Lead had planned to launch one of our signature 50 Women Can Change the World programs for women lawyers, for example. At first, I was bemoaning the fact that under the economic circumstances caused by coronavirus, it would be really hard for us to find law firms willing to sponsor the program, because that was our plan. But you know, then I saw this article, and it’s titled For Some Practices, Coronavirus Uncertainty Is Bringing a Spike in Demand. I saw that in the American Lawyer, and this article lists a number of practice areas that are likely to grow during these disruptive times. As the saying goes, it's an ill wind that blows no good. There’s always an opportunity in disguise.
And furthermore, I can absolutely assure you that Take the Lead will be offering all of our leadership development programs virtually. We’ve already started working on adapting materials for our upcoming 50 Women Can Change the World in law, journalism, and health care cohorts. We will take this opportunity to make all of our training and coaching programs available in high quality to individuals and to companies using digital platforms. And why not take the opportunity of time that you have at home for yourself to upgrade your leadership skills?
The third tip that I’d like to share with you is just to explore available resources. Explore the resources. There are a lot of things out there that can get you the help you need, and I want you not to be shy about using them. I know sometimes we may not feel like we really want to try using some of these resources, but you know, in a time like this, we need to make use of all the resources that are available to us, so here are just a few ideas: So, the third tip is to explore available resources to help you get the help you need and don’t be shy about using them.
Here are a few ideas. I’ll put the links to all of these resources in the show notes so you can get them at any time. There are mental health resources you can tap into that you can find at cdc.gov. That’s the Centers for Disease Control. You can also find out how some companies are helping hourly wage workers, and you can use this as a guide to how you can find resources if that is you. I was also inspired by Zoom CEO Eric Yuan, who’s giving K through 12 schools Zoom video conferencing tools for free. You know, he actually was taking the time to sign up schools remotely for free accounts of his video conferencing software, and I thought that was really cool, and I think it really tells us that there are many people out there willing to help, so keep your eye out for things that you might need.
If you’re a college student or you have a college student who is having to move out of his or her dorm, U-Haul is offering free storage for college students. You could also check out and try out LinkedIn courses for successful virtual teamwork to maintain productivity, and although Take the Lead is a virtual organization, and we have been working virtually now for all of our six years, I can’t wait to look at some of these courses. I think I’m gonna learn a lot from them. And finally on this list, and there are many more you can find, the US Labor Department does allow unemployment benefits for coronavirus-related disruptions in your employment, so be sure to check that out.
Okay, now I think it’s also super important to have some fun. So, I put together a few artistic events or learning opportunities that maybe we’ve been wanting to experience that we haven’t had time for. I often don’t get to see what’s going on at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, for example, when I’m there. Well, now you can take Museum of Modern Art virtual tours. And again, I will put all of these links in the show notes. You can stream all the movies that you’ve missed during this time, and you can even grab these amazing films by women for free, courtesy of Women Make Movies transnational film festival. Grab that one up right away.
Here are songs that you can sing besides happy birthday while you wash your hands, and don’t forget to binge listen to all my Power To You podcasts. Plus, do me a huge favor and while you have a little extra time, review the podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts, or all of the above. It will totally help Take the Lead spread the word about our work and our valuable leadership tools and tips. We will appreciate that so much.
And in that vein, the fifth tip that I wanted to give you is help someone else. Nothing elevates those feel-good hormones like doing something to help another human being. Seattle, the first major city in the US to experience a coronavirus spike, became a model for people helping each other. Just pick one thing you can do, or one person you can help. It will lift your spirits immediately. As Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky suggested on the Facebook page of his Los Angeles congregation, B’nai David-Judea, “The very last thing we need right now is a mindset of mutual distancing. We actually need to be thinking the exact opposite way. Every hand that we don’t shake must become a phone call that we place. Every embrace that we avoid must become a verbal expression of warmth and concern. Every inch and every foot that we physically place between ourselves and another must become a thought as to how we might help that other person should the need arise.” I think that’s a very beautiful sentiment.
And number six, above all, listen to public health experts and follow their instructions. Stay well, stay safe, and always let us know: How can we help you? So, this week I want you to use your power to by first of all, call two friends on the phone every day. Don’t email them first, just call them and enjoy their surprise. If you can, volunteer to shop or deliver meals to people who can’t get out for whatever reason. Third, do something every day that falls into the realm of self care. Whether it’s working out, taking a long soak in a bubble bath, reading those books that have been stacked up beside your bed for months, or anything that makes you feel happy and special. Fourth, using the time you’ve saved from your usual commute to freshen up your resume. Create a new business plan. Practice baking that perfect loaf of bread. Or, like Take the Lead, turn your usual offerings into digital assets that you can monetize.
In other words, carpe the chaos by taking positive action. And five, invent a cure. Plan your political campaign. Write a book. Think big. You know, this is your time to do something big and world changing, or at least think about it if you can. Please share your ideas with me on Take the Lead’s Facebook group. They might help someone else. Do let me know how it goes for you. I really care. I hope you are staying well and healthy. Email me at powertoyou@taketheleadwomen.com.
Until next week, Power to You.
Power to You is produced by Lantigua Williams & Co. Cedric Wilson is our sound designer. Emma Forbes is our assistant producer. For more about my work, please visit gloriafeldt.com, and follow me on social media @gloriafeldt. To learn about Take the Lead and our courses and coaching services, go to taketheleadwomen.com, and follow us on social media. You can also send me comments about the show and questions on leadership and power to powertoyou@taketheleadwomen.com. I might even use them on future episodes. Be sure to subscribe or follow on your favorite listening app, and please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, as those really help us know what you like about the show. Thanks.
CITATION:
Feldt, Gloria, host. “My Tips for Getting Through This Crisis.” Power to You, Take the Lead Women, March 30, 2020. https://www.taketheleadwomen.com/podcast